SAN JOSE — To no one’s surprise, most of the Sharks players really didn’t pay much attention to the second round series between Anaheim and Edmonton last year after they were bounced out of the playoffs by the Oilers in the opening round.

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As a refresher, the Ducks lost to the Oilers on home ice in both games 1 and 2. But Anaheim felt much better about the way it played in the second game, and went on to beat the Oilers twice in Edmonton to level the series before coming back home.

The Ducks went on to capture the series in seven games and advance to the Western Conference final.

The past might have little to do with the present. The Sharks hold a 2-0 lead in the opening round series going into Game 3 on Monday night at SAP Center, and no one’s thinking about what Anaheim accomplished in 2017.

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Still, Anaheim felt much better about the way it played in Game 2 on Saturday and are plenty capable of shifting momentum with one win. The Ducks only lost three straight games in regulation time once this season, from March 8-12, which was followed by a 10-1-1 streak.

A handful of San Jose’s players as members of the Sharks have been in this spot before, as well.

In 2013 in a first round series against the Vancouver Canucks, the Sharks won two games at Rogers Arena, then won the next two at home to sweep the series. Two years ago in a first round series against the Los Angeles Kings, the Sharks won the first two at Staples Center, lost game 3 at home, but bounced back to win the next two to advance.

“You can point to any situation in history and come up with something that went bad or went south. That doesn’t enter into our feeling,” Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said. “We’ve worked to get this lead and we’re going to continue to work. That doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy. They’re going to play well, and they might win a game tonight and we might have to regroup.

“We know this isn’t going to be easy. But we’re not looking for the sky falling theory. That’s up to you guys to look for that.”

The Sharks aren’t making any lineup changes for Game 3. Melker Karlsson is fine after he absorbed a hit from Corey Perry late in the third period of Game 2 and Justin Braun is also OK after he blocked a shot in the final minute and had to leave the ice. Karlsson said he had to go through concussion protocol after Perry’s hit.

Three things to watch in Game 3.

1. What kind of difference will having last change make for the Sharks?

As DeBoer has stated many times, he’s not one to chase matchups at even strength in terms of pitting one of his forward lines against another for the Ducks. He’s more apt to try to get his top defense pair of Braun and Marc-Edouard Vlasic out there against the Ducks’ top line, which includes leading scorer Rickard Rakell and top assist man Ryan Getzlaf.

Whoever has been out there against Rakell and Getzlaf at even strength has done the job so far. Through two games, the only point between the two has been a Getzlaf assist on Hampus Lindholm’s power play goal in Game 2.

Otherwise, Rakell, who had 34 goals in the regular season, including two against the Sharks, has just two shots on goal in two games. Only once this season has Rakell been held without a point in three consecutive Ducks games, which happened back in October.

Now the Sharks will get last change and the chance to put Vlasic and Braun out there against Anaheim’s top line after every stoppage in play.

Chances are, too, that the line of Couture, Tomas Hertl and Mikkel Boedker will see quite a bit of time against Rakell and Getzlaf, and possibly Ondrej Kase at times, as well. Certainly, if the Sharks can slow down the Ducks’ top guys again, it would go a long way in avoiding the same path the Oilers went down last season.

“It’s up to us to play a good home game,” Couture said. “We know there’s going to be a lot of energy in the building, and feed off it. Get off to a good start. We want to get the first goal tonight and build off that.”

2. Can the Sharks continue to turn the other cheek?

Kevin Labanc was absolutely rocked in the first period of Game 2 by a Francois Beauchemin hit. To add insult, Labanc then caught a puck in the head when he was on the ice, just before Dylan DeMelo landed on top of him after DeMelo was hit by Nick Ritchie.
Anaheim Ducks defenseman Kevin Bieksa, left, battles Sharks right wing Kevin Labanc for the puck during the first period of Game 2 on Saturday. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

“I just thought it was a dirty hit,” Labanc said. “His shoulder or elbow went to my head. It is what it is. You just have to calm down, stay focused, stay composed.”

Labanc was ticked off, to be sure, and thought a penalty should have been called. Still, Labanc — or any other Sharks player — didn’t at some point try to seek retribution, a key to them giving up just five power play chances in the first two games. The Ducks have scored once in those five tries.

“We’ve asked our whole team to make plays and not retaliate. Like I said, I liked our response to their physical play. We won’t be pushed out of games,” DeBoer said. “He’s a young guy and that’s a good example of our whole team mentality.”

3. Can the Sharks fourth line remain impactful?

The Sharks’ fourth line badly out-chanced whoever they were skating against in Game 2, and picked up a critical first period goal from Marcus Sorensen to tie the game 1-1. No surprise, then, that San Jose is keeping that line together for Game 3 and the Ducks appear to be making a change to its fourth line, with Jason Chimera entering the lineup for the ineffective Antoine Vermette.
Sharks forward Marcus Sorensen (20), seen here celebrating with teammates after scoring a goal against the Chicago Blackhawks, has given San Jose some effective minutes so far against the Anaheim Ducks. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

Sorensen figured to have a short leash on him for the start of the playoffs, especially with so many other depth forwards waiting to get into the lineup. But the speedy Sorensen has responded with some solid minutes.

Sorensen also held his own in a fourth-line role for the Sharks in last season’s playoff series against Edmonton when he skated mostly with Chris Tierney and Timo Meier.

The key for him, as DeBoer reiterated Sunday, was being consistent. Sorensen did not make the Sharks’ roster out of training camp and was recalled three times from the AHL this year before he finally stuck. He played the final five games of the regular season for the Sharks after Barclay Goodrow went out with a broken finger.

“I really felt that when he was on his game and using his speed and playing inside and playing a little reckless that he could be an effective playoff player for us,” DeBoer said. “It was just finding that game consistently and I thought the last five-six games of the season he started to do that every night and has carried that into the playoffs.”

Curtis Pashelka is the San Jose Sharks reporter for the Bay Area News Group. Prior to covering the Sharks, Curtis served as the high school sports editor for the East Bay. He also worked as a general assignment reporter covering motorsports, golf and college basketball, and as a backup writer on the A's, Giants and Warriors. He started at the organization in 2000 and spent close to eight years covering high school sports.